Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
“Why would it be impossible to be separated that way? Aura, you want to tell me something, but you’re dancing around it. I am certainly not going to sleep in the ground with him. I would die. Even if, by some miracle, I wouldn’t, the idea doesn’t appeal to me. And if I were in the ground during the day, who would be here with my family to watch for demons? That’s my job, what I’m trained to do. If the war really is pending, I can’t take time to go to sleep when Lilith would take advantage and send demons that can come out in the daytime.”
She made her case as logical as possible because she had the feeling Aura might reveal something to her that would be devastating.
“Do you crave his touch?” Aura asked bluntly. “His mind in yours? When he’s away from you, does your mind seek his?”
Safia nodded slowly. “Yes. And it’s gotten worse since our first encounter. I allowed him to take . . . liberties I would never have dreamt of.”
“Did you exchange blood? Do you remember? I know he gave you blood the first time because you were in need.”
“Yes, but he took my blood as well. He said it would establish a connection between us, that we would be able to communicate on a private path.” Safia continued to watch Aura closely for the slightest sign that Petru had been deceiving her, because something wasn’t quite right.
“Yes, he’s right about that. We can do that because I took your blood and gave you mine. When you’ve been wounded, I’ve given you blood.”
“I don’t crave seeing you, Aura. I miss you when I haven’t seen you for a couple of days, but I don’t feel as if I have to use every bit of discipline I have in order to keep my mind from seeking yours like I do his.”
“There’s a difference between me giving you a small amount of blood to establish communication between us and a true blood exchange,” Aura explained. She tapped her fingers on the wide railing that ran along the end of the grotto overlooking the harbor.
Aura didn’t exhibit nervous behaviors. Twice, Aura looked around the grotto as if suspicious that they weren’t alone. Safia hadn’t detected the presence of any others, but Aura was very good at sensing vampires.
What do you think is here with us?
Not what. Who. I doubt your lifemate would leave you without protection. I am suspicious that one or more of his traveling companions are close.
Aura would naturally be reluctant to talk to her in front of them. Safia opened her mind and sent out a call for the bats to aid her in mapping out the cavern and grotto. She expanded the search, taking care not to give off the slightest bit of energy.
Petru’s friends had been with her several times. Growing up, she had learned to automatically recall every detail about those around her. She absorbed their habits, the way they moved, breathed and, in this case, the preferred images they took when they shifted. They were ghosts, fading into whatever the background was, or becoming molecules, part of the air itself.
For Safia, Nicu would be the easiest to find. His mind was more like that of a feral animal, a dangerous predator, and she was drawn to low energy that was entirely different. It would be one thing for Petru to send his men to aid her or look after her during a fight with vampires or demons. She would understand that, but not during a private conversation with one of her friends. Aura rarely allowed herself to be so vulnerable, and she would be very embarrassed to know that these strangers had heard every word she’d said to Safia.
Safia had lived a life of freedom. She’d been trusted. She couldn’t live with a man who was so controlling he needed to know where she was every single moment of the day or night. Who she was with, what was said.
“Tell me what the difference is between what we did and what I shared with Petru.” Safia encouraged Aura while she sought out any intruders. She was more than convinced they weren’t alone, but she had to find the evidence. She wasn’t going to jump to conclusions.
Aura shook her head, fingers creeping toward her throat, her gaze darting around the grotto. We should leave this place.
Safia found Nicu, a tiny bat tucked into a crevice. The one they called Lojos was a few feet from him, a transparent cave spider. Benedek was scattered through the air right above them. She raised her arms and sent wind crashing through the grotto.
“How dare the three of you stalk me like some madmen. Aura, take me home, please. I have a few things to say to that horrid man who thinks I will honor a claim from someone who believes he has the right to control me. On the way, we can continue our conversation without eavesdroppers listening to every word we say.”